Hell Hath no Fury Like a Woman Scorned
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: On death's door, she finds a reason to exist, a reason to continue. Revenge. And what better way to get payback, then by siding with the enemy? CiruccixIchigo with some IchigoxNel and IchigoxOrihime too. Plenty of fluffy goodness!
1. Shroud

**I know the arrow wasn't supposed to make her bleed, but without it, nothing would fit into the story, so for all intensive purposes, she's bleeding. This is just for fluffy purposes. I watched Cirucci die, and I felt bad for her. Don't worry Cirucci-chan! You will not die!**

Cirucci: Eh?! You're pairing me up with _him?! _A shinigami of all people?!

??: Hey hey hey! Is that an insult?!

Cirucci: Why you-

Nz: (Sighs) Cirucci knock it off, or I'm pairing you with Aizen.

Cirucci: (Pales) Y-You wouldn't!

Nz: Oh? You doubt? (Raises pencil)

??: C'mon dude, that's just _mean_.

Nz: Well? It's your choice, Cirucci-chan.

Cirucci: (Fumes) Oh fine! I'll put up with him! Just don't pair me with Aizen!

Nz: (Grins smugly as pencil is set down) Wise choice.

??: I'm beginning to think you're worse than Aizen...

--

Arrancar aren't supposed to shed tears.

But she does.

Arrancar aren't supposed to cry out in anguish nor pain.

But she does.

Arrancar aren't supposed to lose.

But she has.

She _is _weak, or so she feels.

She lays on the pretty marble floors, painted face nestled in the center of her tangled arms, cheeks wet with salt water, and none to hear her screams or sobs but herself.

None of it is hers anymore.

Back aching, flesh ripped apart, she ignores the finger-like rivulets of crimson blood staining her dress, the weight of the floor the only thing preventing her from bleeding to death at this point.

She couldn't stand it. It only seemed to press upon the torn skin, reminding her of where her former number used to be, making it all the more angry and burning.

She'd rather bleed.

She has been _defeated_.

She'd watched the Quincy and his annoying friend dissapear into the corridor before she let her shame and shredded pride get the better of her.

She couldn't stifle it, but she could damn well keep others from witnessing it.

She'd always liked it better that way – the way things were before the artificial sun beat the night sky blue.

The sky had been battered, and now so was she, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

She should've known better than to believe the sweet lies the shinigami captain had fed her.

Now the only thing she had left...

Was to wait here.

Wait for them to come, so she could die.

The shadows fell over her, she can feel them, even though she does not look.

"Cirucci Thunderwitch-sama."

Ahe closed her eyes, as she heard the rasp of metal being drawn.

She dares not look at his hideous skull face.

"We have come for you."

She does not resist.

There is no point.

Her power is a mere _shadow_ of what it once was.

"Please do not cry out."

More blades are drawn, their rasping filling the air, as if they hunger for her blood.

She waits for the steel to descend, waits for it all to end, prays for a swift death...

Blood flies through the air.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

Yet she soon realizes it is not her own, as the floor shakes, and a loud explosion is heard.

The sound of a body collapsing, then a shout, fills the room, followed by a steady clop clop of sandals, indicating that someone else is here.

Whoever it is, he sounds brash, arrogant...

And angry.

_Very angry._

"Taking out your own ally just because she lost? You bastards make me sick!"

"Who are you?" They ask, but he does not answer.

She hears a child's laugh, something like 'Itsygo' mentioned, then the footfalls hasten.

"I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Steel bangs against steel, but she is oblivious to it.

Another body drops to the ground...

Then another.

And another.

Finally, she looks up, the once simple effort taking years of effort to accomplish, wobbling badly, just from raising her head.

A shadow falls over her, and she looks up at brown eyes, black robes flittering at the edge of her vision.

"Are you allright?" He asks, seemingly concerned for her well being.

She just stares at him blankly.

After a second or so, this silence seems to irritate him, and his eyebrows knit together in frustration.

"Oi! Do you even speak english?!"

"Itsygo!" Again that childish girlish voice, coming from somewhere behind him, seeming to reprimand him this time.

He stamps a foot and looks over his shoulder, even more annoyed than before, and she idly notices that he has strawberry blond hair, orange even.

"What?!" He all but shouts at her.

"You be nice!" She scolds, the unseen person, as she must be behind him.

She is reminded of that bastard quincy and his idiot friend.

Her vision is growing narrow, and her eyes begin to droop closed.

"Idiots...She murmurs, before collapses into her arms.

Their cries of exclamation fade in her ears.

"H-Hey!"

"Is she asweep?"

"Nel do something, she's losing blood!"

--

He rolls his eyes as Nel finishes her healing, and sucks the last of her saliva back into her mouth.

"Done?"

"Yep! Now lets go!"

"Oh no you don't! I decided which way to go this time!"

"Aww no fair!"

His features darken into a scowl.

"Fair? It wasn't _fair _when we got lost because of your crappy directions!"

It was thanks to her that they had to come back around and go this way in the first place!

"Stupid dead end...he murmurs, looking away from the girl...

And his eyes fell on Cirucci.

_'She looks so...fragile.' _He mused to himself, in a rare moment of thought, as his eyes idly roamed over her unconcious form. _'No wonder she lost...._

At this, as if she was aware of his stare Cirucci seems to stir, groaning softly as she came to.

"Hey, she's waking up...

--

When she awakes...

_'Wait, I'm...alive?_

She is surprised to find that she has been healed.

Gasping, she sits up, feels at the hole in her chest, where the arrow had pierced her.

Her power is still faint, but she is alive.

Only then does she notice the fact that she is not alone, and that the way she is sitting, affords anyone an excellent view of her panties.

With an "Eeep!" she pulls the edge of her dress down to prevent any peeking, unintended or otherwise.

Her rescuer flushes a dark crimson, waving his hands emphatically seconds later.

"I-I didn't peek, honest!"

This is accompanied by a silly laugh from the green haired girl that is sitting upon his shoulder.

Cirucci glares at him, silently wishing she had her zanpaktou, but that too is no longer hers.

She is too weak to even summon it, besides, it is broken anyway, thrown away during battle, never able to be used again.

"What do you want with me, shinigami?"

At this, he seems to regain his composure.

"Me? I was just making sure you're allright-

All at once, he seems to remember something, judging by the way his eyes suddenly go wide.

"Inoue!"

Immediately, he scoops up his sword from the floor, which is wrapped in heavy cloth.

The sight of that weapon draws a memory, and her eyes triple, as he makes a hasty exit.

_'He's the shinigami daijou Aizen-_

She finds herself about to add the 'sama' suffix to his name, but rejects it.

She rejects a small part of herself in the proccess.

But what is the purpose of clinging to a society that has rejected you?

She _barely _got the word out in time.

"W-Wait!"

He skids to a halt, shoots her a glare, clearly impatient, a foot tapping impatiently upon the bare tiles.

"What is it now?! I don't have time to fight you!"

Hastily, she picked herself up.

The words burned in her throat, it hurt just to say them, as if she was rejecting her very being by speaking.

She hung her head slightly, and said it, with great effort.

"I...want to come with you, shinigami."

She glared angrily at the tiles beneathher heels, and the bodies of the executioners, spitting upon them both seconds later, then looking back to the substitute soul reaper with great effort.

"As you can see, I have nothing here. If I stay, I'm as good as dead."

"No way! You're the enemy!"

She cursed her weakness, as tears began to well up in her violet eyes.

"Iie!" She shook her head violently, tears flying off to either side, desperate to be rid of them,spraying them every which way, the dim lighting reflecting off the water, and seeming to make it shine. "You don't have to accept me, just let me come with you!"

Ichigo however, was _speechless._

His entire mind had gone numb the moment she asked to come with him, and now she was practically in _tears?_

What the hell was going on?!

"Y-You don't have a weapon...He managed to stammer.

She reached down and took one of the basic blades upon the floor, dropped by the executioners.

Her voice was oddly subdued now, as she buckled the sheath and belt to her waist.

"There."

Ichigo cast Nel a look, and the child just blinked, confused as well...

But only for a moment, then she pumped one tiny fist into the air.

"Owkay! Cirucci-chan can come wit' us!"

Ichigo facefaulted, but got back up in a heap, clearly exasperated.

Every second wasted here was another second Inoue was in danger!

Or so he told himself.

"Alright fine fine fine! Now lets get going-

He nearly jumped as a portion of the wall opened on the opposite west side.

He didn't sense Inoue in the direction Uryuu and Pesche were heading...

But he _did_ feel another reiatsu, this one more massive than the one before.

"An espada?"

"That'd be Syazel Apporro Granz, the _octavo_ espada." Cirucci murmurred, furiously angry already, her hands tightening into fists.

It was because of _him _that she had been demoted to a Priverion!

But in her current state, she was no match for him, payback was unattainable.

She gave the shinigami a side-long look.

She needed to get stronger.

Sticking with someone powerful was the best way to do just that.

Now she had a goal, a meaning, something to latch herself onto.

Revenge.

He wanted to get to the woman Aizen had captured, and perhaps if she helped him.

She could find out just how he was so powerful.

"She's that way." Stated the arrancar, pointing towards the newly opened door. "You're here to save her, am I right?"

That was all she needed to do.

He ran like a bat out of hell, bolting through the halls, a man on a mission...

With Cirucci in his wake.


	2. It was You!

Ichigo Kurosaki was lost.

He'd taken a wrong turn somewhere, and instead of meandering his way further inside the castle, had come up nearing the outside instead. It was a large columned room, ending in another set of entrances and one long stairway, ending in a small door. It was still around midday—a bright shaft of light from outside cascaded down the steps, throwing them into relief. The place was eerie; he kept feeling that he was being watched. His first companion, a small Arrancar by the name of Nel seated squarely on his shoulders, was quiet, obviously feeling unrest.

"Maybe we s'ood turn backs, Itsygo," she whimpered, her usual small babyish voice in her ear.

"Backtrack? No way!" Snapped Cirucci as she caught up with them.

The two procceeded to argue about this, much to the roka's annoyance.

Ichigo stopped trying to break it up between them after a minute or so.

Now he was trying to decide where to turn, just when he sensed a spiritual pressure above—coming from the direction of the stairs.

Immediately the arguement between the two arrancar died off.

Both arrancar and the shinigami looked towards the shaft of pale light above them, now broken with the silhouette of a slim figure. The man descended the steps, slowly revealing his pallor, matching that of the light outside. But his eyes blazed a cold, crystalline emerald, tearstains below and black hair moving in the breeze coming from the door. His half-mask obscured one side of his face, but the eye cast in shadow gleamed demonically nonetheless. He walked down the stairs as if he were a prince, yet there was a smoothness in his gait that betrayed his power.

He was familiar.

It was he who had stopped Grimmjow from killing him weeks earlier.

The shinigami put Nel on the ground, where she scuttled away to hide—he had no quarrel with this Arrancar, but that didn't mean that the Arrancar had no quarrel with him.

Cirucci stood her ground, frozen in place, a horrofied expression frozen upon her visage.

She was trembling.

The Arrancar took his time descending the steps, observing Ichigo as one would an interesting new species—but his gaze was full of murderous intent, as if he believed the two of them had been enemies all their lives. Ichigo adjusted Zangetsu on his back, the knife-like blade, as always, ready for the challenge. At the back of his mind, Hichigo stirred. The pale man stepped quietly from the staircase, his cold eyes never leaving those of the shinigami. Ichigo stood still as he walked silently past, and came to rest directly in the path that the shinigami had been planning to take.

Ichigo watched him, dumbfounded, for several moments.

"Why do you not draw your blade, shinigami?" the whitewashed Hollow asked silkily, his deep voice casting no echoes in the vast columned room. "I am in the way of your destination." Ichigo looked at him curiously for a moment—why was this Arrancar so obviously baiting him? His eyes saw the green-bound hilt of a zanpakouto resting at the Hollow's side.

He didn't have time for this.

Ichigo brushed past the green-eyed Arrancar, suppressing an involuntary shiver when he sensed the man's icy reiatsu. The Hollow didn't move, but Ichigo could feel his green eyes follow him as he walked near.

"I don't have any reason to fight you," said Ichigo, stopping to meet his gaze. He decided it wouldn't be wise to not answer his question. The Hollow's spiritual pressure was worrisome. Ichigo walked on, motioning to Nel to stay in the shadow of the staircase where she was hiding.

Then his eyes, they fell on Cirucci who still hadn't moved from where she was.

"Oi. Cirucci we're going." Stated Ichigo impatiently.

As if jolted from a daze, she nodded, and sprinted after him.

"That is very interesting," the deep silky voice replied, and shinigami and arrancar stopped and turned around; back towards the sinuous enemt, who stood lazily with his hands in his pockets, his back turned towards Ichigo as if the Soul Reaper were absolutely no threat whatsoever.

But now he was staring at _Cirucci_.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed—he had no fight with this Arrancar, but that didn't mean he had to like the man.

Who exactly was this guy?

_Goes by 'Ulquiorra',_ remarked Hichigo with an anticipatory sneer.

Ulquiorra turned his head slowly, and Ichigo caught the profile of his tearstained face, his wicked eyes hidden behind a mask of ebony hair.

"Cirucci, what are you doing here? You were defeated." His words were icy daggers that cut into her very soul.

His hands were still in his pockets, but it would take less than a _second _for him to kill her.

In that moment, she saw her life, as a hollow, a menos, then an adjuchas, flash before her very violet eyes.

The need to exist, the need to continue, was suddenly overpowering, strangling her, screaming, roaring into her ears, even as tears began to well in her eyes, tears of hopelessness and fear.

She didn't want to die!

Ichigo found his body moving of its own accord, as he got in front of the arrancar.

Therfore, he missed the proud arrancar's eyes, and how they softened, ever so _slightly_, as his shadow, then his back blocked her from Ulquiorra.

And he missed, her smile, just a bit, as she whiped away the water that had begun to stream down her face.

"Outta the way. We have no business with you." He stated with authority.

"What if I told you, then, that I was the one who forced Orihime Inoue to come to Hueco Mundo?" he asked, his tone sprinkled with the merest hint of satisfaction. The shinigami stiffened as the Arrancar's tongue slid easily over the human girl's name. Ichigo's blood boiled, and in response, Cirucci took a minute step backwards.

It turned out to be a wise move.

Without hesitation, the shinigami _flew_ at the pale man, Zangetsu thrown in a wide swing, intent on cleaving Ulquiorra in two.

But the blade was halted almost immediately.

Ulquiorra had blocked it with his bare hand.

"I _knew_ it," growled Ichigo, struggling to do some damage—but it was like trying to cut into steel. "I knew you people kidnapped her—why would she come here otherwise?!" There was a pause, and Ichigo thought he saw the shadow of a smirk cross his opponent's waxen features.

"I see," Ulquiorra replied. "You came to rescue her even though you were unsure of her intentions. That is very interesting indeed."

With a swift flick of his wrist, the Hollow twisted Zangetsu around, and Ichigo had to tighten his grip to keep the blade in his hands.

In response, he leapt back, clearly enraged as he skidded to a halt several feet away.

"That's it!"

His brown eyes seemed to dance.

"I'll go at you with all I've got!"

Black red light began to flow from his hand into Zangetsu, slowly at first then faster, faster still, until he all but _screamed _the words.

"BANKAI!"

Red light enshrouded him...


	3. Battle

**Note: Listen up you friggin flamers! I dont give a _shit_ what u think, so stop saying my stories suck! Honestly get a LIFE! I do not CARE if this pairing will never happen!**

**Now, to those of you who actually have a SOUL thank u SO much for the nice reviews!**

**(Insert appropriate Bleach Music)**

Cirucci covered her face with both arms as Ichigo was lost from sight in the massive pillar of dark energy.

"W-What the?!"

So _this_ was a shinigami's bankai.

He leapt out of the pillar, spraying wave upon wave of reiatsu out before him. She could see the edges of his outfit, which were now ragged and torn, and his attire was more form fitting.

But midway through the increase as he ascended...

His power _changed_.

It became dark and sinister and suddenly seemed to permeate the very air, saturating it with reaitsu, suffocating anyone who wasn't strong enough to withstand the prescence of such a malignant energy.

His energy was wild and rough now, constantly increasing, as if it had no limit.

Unperturbed as ever, Ulquoirra just stared up at the pillar with mild interest, hands in his pockets the hem of his robes flapping wildly about.

"Bankai?"

Through the light, Ichigo's face was suddenly revealed, as was the rest of him.

Cirucci could barely make him out from this distance, as he was now incrediby high up, practically touching the ceiling.

His giant zanpaktou now appeared to be smaller, and a long katana with a chain at its hilt....

Wait... what was that...

On his face?

As if her vision suddenly zoomed in...

She saw it.

_The mask._

His warm brown eyes were now yellow irises, and the whites of those eyes were now a pitch blac color. She could still see his orange hair, as the mask only covered his face and chin...

Still, she shivered as watery growl escaped him.

His left hand briefly rested on the flat of his blade, whilst the right held its hilt in a deathgrip.

Raising it up, he now seized its grip with both hands, twisting it around as he did so...

Dark red black light began to swirl about him, in a crescent like shape that spun, even as the power built.

Cirucci idly thought it looked as if a miniature typhoon was hovering in the air, just _waiting _to come down and wreak its carnage.

And down it came!

**_"KYAH!"_**

She had a second to get under cover, as with a _scream _Ichigo swung!

As it was, she lost the circular frame that held up her dress, leaving it to dangle loosely over her form, still covering everything, but _barely._

He came hurtling down, a bolt of black light, hell bent on Ulquiorra's death!

He moved with _incredible _speed!

One moment he was hovering in the air-

The next, he veritably _slammed_ into the Espada, who somehow got a hand up to _block_ the attack!

The earth quaked and she was nearly blown away in the resulting gale.

The black light thinned a bit to reveal Ichigo, who was straining against the lone appendage with all his considerable strength, cracking and shattering the hard floor beneath their feet, the pressure of his reaitsu disintegrating those shards mere moments later.

She found her own eyes going wide, as Ulquiorra looked...

_Surprised._

The ground, previously untouched where the arrancar stood, suddenly crumbed beneath his feet, in spiderweb cracks, then it just flat out crumbled.

Behind his mask, Ichigo grinned.

_'Got him!'_

His resolve hardned, he began pushing with tenfold force!

**_"RAAAAAGH!"_**

Swinging hard, he somehow managed to use enough force to get Ulquiorra _off _the ground, and into the air, carried up by the red wave he flung!

Mild annoyance reflecting upon his visage, the silent arrancar swatted the blast away with his arm...

However, he had forgotten to take his momentum into account.

As a result of pushing _off _the blast, he collided with a pillar, the impact shattering it, as he passed through.

**_"GET BACK HERE!"_**

An enraged Ichigo suddenly appeared before him, and swung _again _batting Ulquiorra through another pillar, as he blocked the blade with his forearm again.

But Ulquiorra was far from done.

He went through about three more, backfirst, before he finally took action. As he approached the fourth pillar, he flipped himself in the air, and landed against the it feetfirst. Pushing off it, he left a small crater as he shot forward...

A crater which soon lengthened to turn the entire pillar to dust.

Cirucci's breath hitched in her throat as she watched him speed back toward Ichigo, roundhousing the ryoka hard across the face...

Or rather, he would have, had Ichigo not Shunpoed back a step, landing on the ground.

Already he was building up for another swing, growling as he did so...

But as Cirucci clutched to the pillar, she could easily see that this one had more force behind it.

_Much more._

With agonizing slowness, he began to bring it back....

Black light again shown from his zanpaktou.

**_"You're finished!"_**

The entire floor crumbled when he spoke the name of his attack, and his eyes glinted with murderous intent!

**_"Getsuga Tenshou!"_**

What happened next was _stunning, _to say the least.

He swung, and a whip of crecent energy escaped his blade, tearing across the floor, hungry for blood!

Ulquoirra landed a second later, took a step back to brace himself, and raised one hand, clearly intending to deal with this attack as he had the others.

That turned out to be a mistake on his part.

The moment he caught it, he began sliding backward, despite his efforts to maintain his footing. In response, the wave buckled and bulged, growing larger with every second.

Strain began to show on his face as his slide picked up speed.

Cirucci felt a glimmer of hope, as she watched his arm move a centimeter.

An inch now.

Further and further it was pushed back, until the attack was mere inches from his face!

The ground buckled beneath him, and his strained expression grew into a scowl. Finally, he brought out his other arm, which had _still _been in his other pocket, to deal with the cutting wave.

Briefly, he pushed it back to arms length, as both arms held the malevolent power at bay.

By now the wave was a large swathe of energy, that which nearly covered _half_ the room, opposite her.

_'Impossible!' _Was Ulquiorra's basic train of thought, as his arms began to buckle, and the wave showed no signs of weakening, or stopping.

No... in fact, it seemed to be getting _stronger_!

**_"Go!" _**Ichigo all but howled, and the wave exploded into Ulquoirra, blanketing the room in stema and remnants of his dark power, gone just as soon as it came.

Immediately, Cirucci felt his power decrease dramatically.

The sight of Ichigo leaning on his blade, panting heavily, gave evidence to that.

She looked on in horrofied fascination, as the mask crumbled from his face, slowly but surely, falling to the floor and fading away.

Ulquiorra was nowhere to be seen, and the fight seemed to be over.

Before she could say or do anything, she watched the oddly comical sight of Nel tackling Ichigo in the face, then bawling her little eyes out about how he worried her.

The snot part was rather amusing, even more so was the shinigami's reaction.

It started without any warning.

Slowly at first, she snickered, but tried her best to remain stoic, biting her lip...

She failed utterly, and was soon holding her sides, shaking with laughter, unaware that both Ichigo and Nel were staring at her.

"Oi! What's so funny!"

Cirucci couldn't speak, she was laughing too hard.

She only managed to point at Nel, then Ichigo, before she burst into the side-splitting giggles again.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, tried to get up.

He fell flat on his butt, too sore to move properly.

Cirrucci laughed harder, and she was crying tears of mirth by now.

It had been a _long _time since she had ever laughed this hard, with genuine happiness. She had to admit, it felt pretty damn good.

Finally, she managed to speak, still giggling as she did so.

"Need some help, shinigami?"

He shot her a glare.

"I have a name ya know!"

She gave him a deadpanned look, her good humor gone.

"Tell me it."

He felt oddly flustered all of a sudden.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

She nodded to herself, and extended her hand to him.

"Cirucci Th-

She shook her head midway, telling herself to stop.

No, that last name meant nothing to her anymore.

"Cirucci."

He nodded, and clasped her hand, she hefted him up with little difficulty, surprisingly strong for one of her slender frame.

Nel hopped off Ichigo's shoulder, seconds later, and he gave a small sigh as he started to head towards the stairs.

"Great. Now let's go, we can't wast anymore of our time here-

Someone rose out of the fading steam.

Both arrancar and shinigami stiffened.

**(Insert Bleach Music Rage of Lunacy)**

Ichigo was dumbstruck as he saw Ulquiorra, you could see it in his eyes.

"What the hell?"

Aside from his tattered clothes...

The arrancar was barely even _scratched._

"My, my, even with both hands I couldn't completely stop it."

Cirucci was stricken with fear.

"N-No way...

He rolled his shoulders, to nonchalantly crack his neck, expressionless as usual.

"I'm a little surprised actually."

Then he noticed the look Ichigo was giving him, and how the shinigami was barely standing.

"Was that everything you had?"

Ichigo didn't answer, he was too stunned.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes and dusted himself off.

"It seems that it was."

He raised a pallid hand, and pointed one finger at the shinigami.

Immediately, Ichigo stepped to one side, intent on keeping Nel safe.

"What a pity." Sighed the espada, green light gathering in the lone digit...

It was fired before Ichigo could even blink.

Cirucci's eyes went wide, as the glow began to envelop them.

_"NO!"_

Ichigo felt himself kicked to one side...

The resounding pink cero that exploded from her mouth, blasted into the incoming blast, slowing it just enough....

To save them.

And watched Cirucci take the full brunt of the blast.

"NOOOOOO!"

He glared at Ulquiorra with hate in his eyes.

"BASTARD!"

--

In a matter of moments the room had been all but destroyed. The ryoka had been stronger than the Arrancar had believed him to be—but he was by no means invincible. As Ulquiorra had anticipated, his taunts had finally goaded the shinigami into action, and had made him reckless. His attacks were _irritatingly_ powerful, but most were wild and inaccurate. If they hadn't been such wide swaths of energy, the shinigami would have missed the Espada on numerous occasions.

It was time to end this—it wouldn't be wise to leave Orihime alone for any extended period of time. He knew better than anyone else that the inhabitants of the castle were not happy about her presence there. It was his, Ulquiorra's, nearly constant presence that kept the others at bay.

Without his mask, the ryoka could _obviously_ tell that his attacks weren't having any effect.

He leaped for an opening in the wall, perhaps in a mad attempt at escape with his allies, or perhaps only to rest for a moment or so. But Ulquiorra wasn't one to allow him that luxury. Time was of the essence.

He appeared in a blur beside the shinigami, whose astonished gaze met his in an instant, and then moved down to observe the orb of viridian Cero the Espada held in his palm; just before Ulquiorra released it at point-blank range.

Ichigo twisted to take the full impact, so as to spare Cirucci and Nel.

And it _hurt_

The shinigami flew back, crashing into an opposing tower far away. The Espada was there in an instant, just as the ryoka was pulling himself forcefully from the debris. Then, oddly enough, the shinigami began to laugh quietly. Ulquiorra felt an uncomfortable sensation over the tattoo just underneath his torn surcoat. The tip of the sleek black blade was pressed against his chest, though it trembled with the shinigami's effort to keep it placed there.

The ryoka looked up, his face fearless and arrogant.

"I guess you've got to be Aizen's most powerful, huh?" he asked, grinning. "So if I just take you out right now, it'll be a major blow to his little army, won't it?" Ulquiorra blinked once, his pale hand taking the slim edge of the obsidian sword and pushing it aside. The coat tore with its passage, revealing the ebony number four emblazoned in the Espada's stark white skin. His green eyes gleamed with satisfaction at the look of fading hope on the ryoka's battered countenance.

"Even if you were to somehow get past me, shinigami," Ulquiorra began quietly, "there are three others more powerful than myself lurking these halls." The Espada felt the Soul Reaper's tight grip begin to loosen at the hilt of his sword, but Ulquiorra held it steady at its tip. "But you do not have the capacity to best me, so it makes little difference."

Ulquiorra's other hand tautened, his fingers forming a deadly sharp point, but there was a moment of hesitation as the Espada remembered a time and place that had only a few seconds ago seemed so far away. He remembered the calm confidence in her sparkling blue-gray eyes as she spoke his name; he had taken a step back, though there was no reason to. He had promised her—but it was such a foolish pact. Why even consider it now?

The Espada struck; he all but grimaced to see the wounded shinigami faint in front of him while he withdrew. But the ryoka was alive all the same—it had been a calculated miss. Ulquiorra blinked down at his fallen foe, deciding that he was a complete fool, and that he would probably regret the decision later.

Yet he knew it didn't matter.

The alternative was unacceptable.

--

Ichigo did not faint.

He was concious as Ulquiorra walked away, footfalls echoing in on themselves.

His face twisted into a scowl, but he could not make his body move.

"D-Damnit!"

He lay there for awhile, until at last, he could move again, and even then, only his arms, as zangetsu returned to normal.

"I-Itsygo!"

He looked to the right, and saw that Nel was perfectly fine.

She looked to be very upset though.

"I couldn' do anythin..." She lipsed, and clearly looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"I'm fine... He mumbled, trying to rise, edging forward on his arms.

Though it hurt like hell, and though he left a trail of blood in his wake, he managed to pat her on the head, then somehow not cry out, as she hugged him, and started sobbing into his chest.

"See? (cough) Just f-fine." He stammered.

"I-Itsygo...Sobbed the girl.

He tried to get up again.

Until a shadow fell over him.

"You still alive?"

He looked up...

And was met with a surprising sight.

"G-Grimmjow?!"

The espada glared down at him, and only then was Ichigo aware that Orihime was here as well.

When Grimmjow ordered Orihime to heal the shinigami, Ichigo vehemently shook his head, one arm protectively curled around Nel.

"No! Not until you heal Cirucci!"

The prieverion espada sported bad burns all over her body, and the slight rise and fall of her chest was the only signs that she was alive.

Grimmjow looked surprised to see her, but his shock did not last long.

"If she's healed, will ya fight me?"

Ichigo nodded. "Sure! Fine! Whatever!"

He looked pleadingly to Orihime, who nodded, in turn, and placed her hands above the arrancar.

"Sante Kesshun."

---

Cirucci sat up with a start, gasping, breathing heavily.

"What the hell?!"

Where was Ulquiorra?

What happened?

"Alright, she's fine! Now its your turn Kurosaki!" Snarled Grimmjow, clearly impatient to get started.

The arrancar sat up, and recognized the girl that Aizen had captured.

She had some sort of dome over Ichigo, and as she looked on his wounds were healed, and seconds later, he got up, and headed outside.

"Alright Grimmjow. Let's finish this."


	4. Chapter 4

**Insert epic Bleach fighting music**

"Wait, Grimmjow!"

"Gran Rey Cero!"

Ichigo's horrified shout could still be heard, echoing end over end, in Inoue's ears, as she watched the cerulean bolt streak towards her.

Cirucci held her breath in horror.

She had no chance of blocking this one.

But at the last second-

KKRAM!

Zangetsu sliced through the attack like swiss cheese, sending both halves to explode harmlessly into the sands below.

When the smoke cleared, she felt that sinister power again.

But now it was _stronger_.

Much stronger.

Vizard Ichigo glared down at Grimmjow..

Cirucci trembled in anticipation as the espada placed his hand upon the flat of his blade, screaming out the name of his released form seconds later.

"Grind: Pantera!"

The sand exploded as he transformed, and moments later, the transformed Grimmjow's scream roared up at him.

She was terribly excited to see this battle, she could not deny that.

Ichigo did not respond, covering his visage with one arm...

The sexta espada was suddenly right in front of him.

Yellow irises went wide, as he received a fist in the face...

Which sent him exploding through pillar after pillar, in rapid succession.

Grimmjow had closed the gap between them, not wanting to let him have the first attack. Before the vizard could react to the punch, Grimmjow landed a spin kick to his abdomen, then a back handed punch to the side of his face to cancel out the momentum of the kick, followed up by an upward spin kick to the chin which launched him straight up into the air.

_'He's fast!'_

Tsking, Grimmjow appeared behind him, even as Ichigo tried to stabilize himself.

The resounding swipe sent him down into a pillar, which crumbled from the impact.

Everyone gasped.

Yet as he looked down into the dirt, Grimmjow attacked from above with a drop kick to the head, then got in front of him and landed a two foot kick to the spine to send him back up into the air.

Appearing in front of Ichigo again, Grimmjow spun himself like a gyroscope, landing several hits with his fists, elbow blades, and feet, before a straight punch sending the shinigami hurtling backwards.

Using another Sonido, Grimmjow got in front of him again and landed a two handed swing sending his opponent straight into the ground, followed by a quick Cero, one which exploded the ground in red, forcing everyone to huddle behind Orihime's shield, as the blast consumed ther general vicinity where Ichigo had been mere moments ago.

_'Even like this he's STILL winning..._

Grimmjow however, was far from done, and he scowled down into the dirt.

"Is that it shinigami?!"

His face twisted into a brutal sneer, he spat down into the dirt.

"Get out here."

After a moment he was answered.

Ichigo _flew _upward out of the dust, moving incredibly fast, and appearing behind Grimmjow, blade raised high.

**_"GESTUGA TENSHOU!"_**

The Espada snarled, but had no time to move, before he was consumed in the inferno, a massive swathe of dark flames, that was easily ten times the velocity and size of the previous attack, and FAR larger than the one he had heaved at Ulquiorra.

A fierce wind swept up, and the vizard just stood there in midair, his face contorting into a scowl, as a laughing Grimmjow suddenly swept aside the smoke with a fully charged Cero in his hand, got above Ichigo, and fired it at point blank range with a fierce shout.

_'Kuso!' **(Shit)**_

He couldn't react fast enough and was engulfed by the attack as it slammed into the ground and exploded.

Grimmjow stood in the air panting, from the smoke, a wicked scar on his muscled chest and stomach, his eyes sparking with wild animal insanity, as he saw Ichigo once again emerged from the smoke, relatively unharmed, albeit a few scorch marks on his face.

"THIS IS GREAT! I'VE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE!"

The shinigami scowled, then blurred forward, intercepting the oncoming punch in his free hand, whilst Grimmjow's left seized the wrist of his sword arm.

**_"You won't be saying that when you're_ dead_, Grimmjow!"_**

Fire rippled from his form and steam rose from them, as their auras flared about them, a horrifying power that was terrible to behold, let alone witness

Suddenly, they both vanished, only to to reappear on the ground, exchanging heated blows and strikes.

Again, they vanished, reappearing to the left, swords a blur of steel grey, and luminous crimson red, as it was now Ichigo who was on the defensive, his shunts, blocks, and parries, a blur to the eye, as his blade was seemingly everywhere at once, never letting a hit get through to him.

With a simultaneous growl, their blades slammed together, sparks flying as energy clashed against metal, their faces creased murderously, as they were just starting to get serious.

They broke apart, slammed together, sprang away, again and again, blurs of black and grey, flitting through the air like vengeful angels over the ground at incredibly fast speeds, the shockwaves of such nearly bowling everyone off her feet.

"How is he doing that... Murmured Inoue as she watched the two flit about the sky, like two vengeful angels.

"He's pretty strong, isn't he?" Quipped Criucci, and the the strawberry blond found the espada sitting on the ground beside her, a rather content look upoon her face.

The girl adopted a confused look.

"Ano, who are you again?"

In response, Cirucci smiled.

When she had been healed, her number had come back as well.

As had her _real _power, not the pathetic power she was downgraded to upon becoming a privaerion espada.

She looked forward to getting her hands on Syazel and Nnoitra, the ones who had assisted in her demotion.

In her eyes, she had Ichigo to thank for this.

But before she could answer, the sky suddenly exploded in red, lighting them in the dull glow, just as the ground before them exploded, as Ichigo was suddenly cast into it, having sustained a direct hit from the cero.

Inoue's eyes went wide, and her hands flew to her mouth.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"Itsygo!" Cried Nel.

Yet the smoke and dust where suddenly swept away, revealing him to be cast in a dim red aura, having used Reiatsu for defense, cushioning his fall.

His eyes fell on her, and they were cold.

**_"Inoue. Use your Sante Keshun to shield yourself and the others from here on out."_**

His eyes were frozen over, there was no emotion in them.

**_"Don't take it down for a second."_**

He turned, back to her, as Grimmjow shouted for him to get back to the fight.

**_"DO IT!"_**

She visibly winced.

Without another word, he suddenly sprang into the air, in pursuit of Grimmjow.

Cirucci gave her a sidelong look. "You gonna do that?"

She didn't look, focused only on the battle. "H-hai! Sante Keshun, I reject!"

xxx

Grimmjow noticed that there was barely a scratch on him, Ichigo, who now began his counter attack anew, even as he ascended.

He went for a kick to the waist which Grimmjow blocked, then a punch to the face which Grimmjow easily dodged while shouting:

"You're too damn slow, shinigami!"

Grimmjow then let loose a rapid barrage of punches to the gut, and after a moment of sagging over in pain, Ichigo clamored up, swung his blade to Grimmjow's gut, which the limber espada hopped over and immediately went into a rapid spin and landed several hits with his tail and elbow blade, and finally ended with a kick, which jerked the blonde's head downward sharply.

Kurosaki recovered though, and aimed Getsuga at him, but with a flick of the wrist Grimmjow released a Bala to divert the attack, thus snapping Ichigo's arms backward, and leaving him wide open for an attack, which consisted of another counter with a punch to his face.

Grimmjow then went for a downward swing but now, Ichigo caught him by the upper arm, so Grimmjow's elbow was pointing at Ichigo's face. "Wrong move buddy," Grimmjow stated, and with a clicking sound darts suddenly exploded from his arm-

Only for Ichigo to catch them all in his free hand, a wicked grin set upon his face, beyond the mask.

**_"My turn."_**

Grimmjow howled as a long gash was torn down his left arm.

"RAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Before Ichigo could even move, Grimmjow had grabbed him by the face and darted towards the ground, nearby several pillars.

A roar escaped him, as and dragged Ichigo's face along the them, for at least two blocks, before tossing him along the ground and into the largest spire, following it up with another Cero, he then did a midair back flip to cancel out his momentum and stood on the ground waiting, as the blast consumed Ichigo.

Inoue made to rush down there, as he rose to his feet Grimmjow crowing his triumph, but Cirucci held her back, the look on her face calm as she felt reaitsu solidify, and then compress itself.

"Wait."

A wild cackle escaped the espada.

"HA! How'd ya like-

His eyes widened as his spiritual pressure skyrocketed, followed by a watery laugh and then a growl.

**_"You were saying?"_**

Ichigo exploded out of the wreckage, clothing ripped and tattered in places, but very much alive, as he came in hard, fast and low, striking at his foe's legs, with a brutal swing, that again cast someone into the ground.

The panther arrancar shot out of the turf behind Ichigo and landed a kick to the side of his head, Grimmjow did a flip to stabilize himself and counter attacked with a punch to the face, then aimed a kick to the gut, which was easily blocked by grabbing Grimmjow's leg and throwing him into the air.

For a moment, they just hung there, panting.

This was only for a second, then their battle resumed.

"That power...

He raised his blade-

-It's not a shinigami's."

The strawberry blond chortled, as he caught an elbow blade with his saber, before breaking past the guard, and dealing Grimmjow a long narrow gash on his chest, a glancing blow, but an injury nonetheless, as he sprang away, leaving the wound to bleed.

**_"Of course not."_**

He then charged at Grimmjow and aimed a punch to the gut, which Grimmjow dodged and countered with a kick to the head, that unlike before, seemed to do nothing, followed by a hit with his tail, which also proved to be ineffective.

For Ichigo effortlessly brushed the attacks off and continued to attack by landing an upper cut to Grimmjow's chest.

The movements of his foe seemed slow now, in comparison to before, he found this to be quite easy, now that he was tapping into his full power, rather than ignoring it and the often painful side-effects.

While Grimmjow was temporarily stunned, Ichigo tried a more daring tactic. With a flick of his wrist, he now tossed his blade up into the air, letting it spin end over end...

While he grabbed Grimmjow's tail, and began to spin.

This went on for quite a while, faster and faster, until he was flung to the side, and pursued by a getsuga, as Ichigo caught his blade and heaved the crescent wave out again.

Grimmjow avoided it by using Sonido and landed a solid punch to Ichigo's spine, one that made the redhead wince, and let loose a barrage of Balas seconds later.

Ichigo caught them all, took them head on, and raised his blade in a guard, effortlessly swatting them aside, then vanished and reappeared above Grimmjow.

Taking advantage of a momentary opening, he struck, landing a kick to his face which sent him flying backwards.

He quickly slashed the tip of his thumb, and as he did so, black red energy danced wildly in his free hand, with _very_ little control.

Now he knew he was risking a great deal by employing hollow tactics, but he needed this battle to end, and a getsuga just wasn't fast enough for that sorta thing.

He took great pleasure in seeing the look of horrofied surprise plastered all over the espada's face.

Now!

"Gran Rey Cero!"

He then launched the blast, and this one hit it's target, as made evident by Grimmjow being sent flying to the ground below, a trail of smoke falling behind him.

Yet, suddenly, he twisted in the air, and again fired a series of darts from his arm.

"EAT THIS!"

With barely an effort, Ichigo dodged them-

Until he saw where they were headed.

**_"INOUE!"_**

Blood flew through the air...

xxx

Ichigo suddenly appeared before her, back to the arrancar and facing her-

Took all five of the darts to his back, sagging over from the impact and crying out as he did so

His hollowfied eyes stared into hers, and she scooted back a bit in fear.

He spat out blood through his mask, his tone pained.

**_"I'm fine this is nothing...._**

Grimmjow suddenly sprang off the ground at him, and Ichigo blurred away, the battle joined again and again, as they blurred through the air, yet Inoue now refused to look, as what she had seen earlier, had truly frightened her.

Cirucci noticed this, and something else now.

The shinigami was starting to lose ground.

Ichigo spun away from a kick, and received a brutal tail whip, that smacked him into the ground.

He rose up, and now the upper right half of his mask had been shattered, revealing that part of his face...

As he looked up, just in time to receive an axe kick which he caught, and returned in favor, by cutting a gash over the espada's chest, flinging him away, then tackling him in a skydiving kick, which shook the earth, as they collided again, the ground exploding under their feet.

Inoue began to tremble, and Nel looked at her.

"Why aren't you cheerin' for Itsygo?!"

Startled, she bit her lip.

Cirucci rolled her eyes. "You're afraid of him, aren't you?"

Ichigo was rising from the ground now, but a spinning kick from Grimmjow caught him square in the face, chipping the entire right side away and thus exposing that side of his visage, as he was sent him tumbling end over end in the sand.

His determination shone through, he pushed off a wall, and sprang back into action, his blade slammed against the spikes of Grimmjow's elbow blades.

Simultaneously, they lashed out, catching each other's face in a solid right hook, that blasted them apart, along with a purple dome, thanks to the mix of red and blue energies.

"Look at that, he's going all out for you, and you're actually _afraid _of him?"

Ichigo now sidestepped an axe kick, the sand exploding beneath him. Grimmjow leapt back seconds later, came around again and as they charged forward and connected, a dome of purple light flashed out-

From which Ichigo was heaved out, slamming into the ground beneath them, as they looked down from the pillar.

He propped himself up, and winced as the lower half of his mask crumbled, most of his face exposed now, his yellow black eyes still terrifying to behold.

"He's your _friend_!" Spat the woman, as she flinched under the glare. "You oughta be cheerin for him!"

His chest rose and fell sharply, he sucked in a ragged breath, sprang forward again-

"TOO SLOW!" Laughed Grimmjow, and a flying kick booted the blond back into the wall with explosive force, not enough to shatter it, but it easily cracked as his back slammed into it.

Orihime gasped as blood shone on the stone.

"He's gonna _die_if you don' believe in him!" Cried Nel, her eyes swimming with tears by this point.

Cackling wildly, the espada leapt upon the vizard, his hands a blur of motion, dealing serious damage, whilst the strawberry blond buckled under the attacks.

"Come on Come on,Come on, COME ON! Where's that reaitsu from before?! Where the hell did your fighting spirit go-

Ichigo's head snapped up, his eyes blazed, red light dancing about his form, and into his zanpaktou.

**_"GETSUGA TENSHOU!"_**

The resulting wave of red/black heat smacked _hard_into Grimmjow, cutting into his chest, sending him sailing into the air and giving Ichigo a much needed reprieve as he then vomited blood, and sagged over on his knees.

In the sky, he knew Grimmjow would be coming for him again, and right now, he was running on empty.

Even now, he could barely move-

"DON'T DIE KUROSAKI-KUN!"

**_"Inoue..._**

He suddenly stiffened, as he heard Orihime _scream_ at him.

Time seemed to slow.

He looked over his shoulder, up at the pillar-

To see her crying, tears brimming and gushing out of her eyes, sobbing openly, her mouth cupped with both hands, so as to amplify her voice.

"You don have to win, Itsygo just don get hurt any more!" Pleaded Nel as well

**_"Nel..._**

"You don't have to win!" Cirucci cried, closing her eyes as she did so.

**_"Cirucci..._**

"Just don't get beat up anymore, _please_!" All three said this at once.

Grimmjow suddenly came tearing in ready to give a killing blow, and his eyes widened.

"KUROSAKI!"

He twirled round to take the head on attack-

And caught the claw in one hand, all the while looking away, the wind force ripping at his robes.

The espada frowned.

How did he block that?

Zangetsu pulsed, it glowed, a deep red, and a calm look was set into his face, despite the partially shattered mask.

"Sorry Grimmjow, but I can't afford any more injuries...

Grimmjow gasped as the blade was raised up, yet the vizard had him in a death grip, and try as he might, he could not get away.

_'Shit!'_

"It ends here."

He released the espada, and with all his remaining might, swung down hard, harder than he ever had before.

And everything on the ground was consumed in the fire of the Tenshou wave...

--

"I can't lose to you, Grimmjow!"

The blade pierced the espada, and it was over.

He would live, but he was no longer a threat, once his released form sealed itself back into a sword.

Ichigo shook his head sadly, and ascended up to where Inoue and the others were.

"Itsygo!"

"GAH!" He cried, as Nel headbutted/tackled him right in the stomach, were he had been stabbed by Grimmjow earlier.

Visibly ticked, he grabbed her.

"Idiot! What were you thinking?! You jumped off a cliff! You would've died if you fell!"

"I'm so happy." That simple murmur through him entirely off course

"Eh?"

"Itsygo, I'm so happy you didn't die!"

At this, his eyes softened.

"Yeah-

He patted her on the head. "Thanks Nel."

With that, he jumped back to the pillar, and set her down.

Halfway up, or rather, the moment his feet hit the ground, he felt the warm glow of Sante Kesshun surround him.

Cirucci shook her head in mild annoyance.

"Looks like you won."

Ichigo gave her a weary thumbs, up, the mask having crumpled off his face during his battle with Grimmjow.

"Yeah."

The arrancar patted herself off of imaginary dirt.

"Took ya long enough-

"Are you hurt?"

Now she was the one caught off guard.

"E-Eh?"

He looked right at her, even as the light left him, and he was fully healed.

"I said, are you hurt?"

A light blush tinted her face.

"No, I'm fine."

He now looked at Inoue.

"Inoue, I-

She shook her head, then smiled.

"No, I'm fine, Kurosaki-kun-Eep!"

She let out a small cry of surprise, as he suddenly hefted her over the shoulder, doing the same with Cirucci moments later.

Needless to say, they both protested, each blushing madly.

"K-Kurosaki-kun W-What're you-

"OI! What the _hell_are you doing Kurosaki?!"

He seemed confused, and ignored Cirucci by slapping a hand over her mouth to drown out her curses.

"Huh? What am I doing? I'm heading down. It's quicker that way, right?"

"B-But-

"What is it? Something wrong?"

"I-I'm pretty heavy...She stammered nervously.

The shingami shrugged. "Not really. You're pretty light."

Inoue flushed a deep, dark crimson.

Did he just compliment her?

"Kurosaki-kun, I-

"EOW!"

He was aware that Cirucci had bit his hand, so with a yelp, he uncovered her mouth, now focused on her.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"I can fly damnit!" She spat back at him, wriggling out of his grip, flushing a deep dark pink as she got airborne, and quickly descened

At that moment, he noticed something.

Her hair was down.

Blinking, he shook it off, scooped up Nel in one arm, and hopped down after her.

(After dealing with Grimmjow's pointless attack)

"So you can stop now."

"Bullshit! Don't give me that-

"What a bad loser! You can just DIE!"

Out of nowhere, a giant scythe came and slammed into him, drawing blood, and smacking the espada to the sand, before drawn back in by the chain.

"He's mine!"

Ichigo's eyes went wide, as he saw what had to be another arrancar.

"Who the hell're you?!"

But just like Ulquiorra, his attention fell on Cirucci.

He did not seem to happy either.

"Oi! What the hell're you doing outside bitch?!"

Cirucci flipped him the bird, and stuck out her tongue in bold defiance.

"Fuck off, Nnoitra Jiruga!"

A tick mark appeared on his forhead.

"Time to put you in your place."

In response, the scythe was swung-

Only to be caught on the edge of Zangetsu.

Ichigo glared daggers at the arrancar.

"You said you wanted to fight me, right?"

He shoved the scythe back.

"Well then let's go!"

"What's your name, shinigami?"

Holding Zangetsu at the ready, he spoke.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Nnoitra grinned, andit was anything but pleasant as he brought his weapon around. "Kurosaki, huh? I'll remember it...

He suddenly exuded a massive amount of reiatsu!

"Until you die that is!"

"Ichigo proceeded to leap away from the flurry of swings, barely blocking them all, before he was hit into the sand.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Cried Inoue, running to help

Nnoitra smirked.

"Tesla!"

However, before he could grab her.

WHAM!

Cirucci's leg met his neck, catapulting him into the sand.

She smirked, wickedly so.

"You'll make a good warmup I suppose."

Nnoitra laughed, surprisingly, long loud and hard, as he watched his fraccion and Cirucci begin to duke it out.

"You fuckers really don't get it do you?"

He stuck out his tongue, and Ichigo's eyes tripled, as he saw the five there.

"Grimmjow beat the shit out of you losers! And I'm _stronger!"_

Ichigo stiffened, as he went into a swing.

"Oh sorry, I forgot your name."

Blood flew through the air...


	5. Spark!

**Phew! I'm back, and updating all my stories again! This chappy is a warmup, so enjoy while I work on the battle!**

"My aplogies, Kurosaki Ichigo."

The vizard blinked in surprised, as a small silhouette now stood before him.

"The hell?"

"And my humblest apologies to you, Lady Cirucci-sama." Came a voice, as blood dribbled onto the sand, from a small hand which tightly gripped Nnoitra's zanpaktou, and seemingly refused to let go of it. "I came as soon as I could, and it would seem that it is as good a time as any-

Another hand had taken the scythe-

And now unceremoniously flipped Nnoitra, zanpaktou and all, over her shoulder! The quinto espada bounced along the dunes one, twice, then finally three times, before coming up with a faceful of sand.

"Uwah!"

Everyone took in her appearance, that of the newcomer.

She was short, _really short_, possibly around the 4"10 mark.

Like most arrancar, she wore a white hakama with a black sash. Her shirt stopped halfway down her stomach and the sleeves started on the side of her shoulder and went down to her wrists. A piece of clothe extended like a glove and covered the middle finger of each hand. On the top of her left arm, a tatoo was visible, but it couldn't be entirely seen. Her face was slightly covered by dark red hair that went to the middle of her back. Underneath it were two blank eyes; they had no pupils, though the sclera were still white, her irses were nothing but solid dark violet.

A small hook that had two lines that went to the middle of her cheek protruded from them onto her face. They were purple on both sides. No one could see her hollow hole but the mask was two long and two thin spikes sticking out from the left side of her head.

"Ah, Saita-chan. Perfect timing." Commended Cirucci in an oddly cheery manner, as she sidestepped a slash from Tesla, and kicked him into a pillar nearby, imprisoning him there for the moment. Her gaze flickered over to where Nnoitra was just starting to get up. "Look's like you broke out of the seal just in time to give me a hand with these weaklings."

The redhead bowed.

"Hai. Shortly after you were healed, I felt the seal holding down my power weaken, and so I am here, as per ordered." Her violet gaze now fixed itself upon Nnoitra, who looked to be quite surprised at her sudden intrusion."

Cirucci had that glint in her eyes, the one that was pure, open battle lust. After what seemed like such a long, long time, her full powers were finally restored unto her.

"BITCH!" Howled Nnoitra! "You think you'll get away with that?!"

Cirucci surprised Ichigo by holding a hand out to block him.

"Wait. Its only fair that Nnoitra Jiruga, quinto espada, should be fought by...

Since the hem of her dress was ripped, as was the metal undercarraige, she was practically wearing a white sundress. Slowly, she reached down to pull aside the part at her waist which was torn...

And in doing so, exposed a 5.

"Quinta espada, Cirucci Thunderwitch."

"Eh?" Nnoitra smirked. "So yer number's back, big deal!"

"Not just my number." She whispered, taking a strand of hair and flicking it out of one eye. "My power's back as well, and I don't mean the privaron power that replaced it." Her violet eyes shown devishly. "My _true_ power."

"Bullshit! There's no way unless-

His gaze fell on Inoue, who gave a small squeak, and ducked behind Ichigo.

"You!"

Cirucci snapped her fingers, and a blade sprang into existence.

It looked like any other zanpaktou, except its guard resembled that of her former, in the oval shape of a yo-to, but this guard was blue, and ridged with nasty looking spikes, and the hilt wrap was a dark navy blue.

"I won't hold back."

She cast a glance to her fraccion.

"Saita!"

"Hai!" The redhead chirped, drawing her own zanpaktou

"Nnoitra Jiruga, payback time!"

"Spark! Chidori!"

"Rise! Cuervo!"

A flash of red and blue enveloped them!


End file.
